Alabama may have proved the majority of our experts’ preseason projections right by winning last year’s national championship, but the way the Crimson Tide pulled it off—surviving a selection committee controversy, turning to a true freshman quarterback and then clawing past an SEC foe that had the look of a team of destiny—couldn’t have been less predictable. As the fifth year of the College Football Playoff begins, the names of many favorites look familiar, but the paths they might take to the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl semifinals are as murky as ever.
Who will be this year’s brightest stars and biggest goats?